


Standoff

by Griddlebone



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Canon Compliant, First Meetings, Gen, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, Pre-Series, Youkai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:07:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21784957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Griddlebone/pseuds/Griddlebone
Summary: Kikyou encounters something, or rather someone, unusual in the forest one morning. My take on a possible first meeting with Inuyasha.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8
Collections: FandomWeekly (2019-2020) Writing Challenge on Dreamwidth





	Standoff

The arrow sputtered and sparked, fizzing and spitting with unspent power, at least for those with the second sight. An ordinary human, or one that was not a youkai, would see only an arrow protruding from the earth, planted directly between a pair of bare, clawed feet.

Kikyou had the second sight—it was her power that infused the arrow, after all—and so did the creature that stood before her.

With silver hair and ears like a dog’s, the man could not be human. Thus, the warning shot.

_I know what you are_ , that arrow said, and, _Come no closer if you value your life._

Gold eyes flicked downward for a second, noted the arrow and its power, before returning to their target. Her.

He was not really here for her. She was merely the guardian that stood between him and the treasure that must surely be his true objective, but she stood firm. He could not have what he wanted without first defeating her.

Kikyou drew another arrow, set it to the string.

Many had come before him, seeking the power of the sacred jewel she protected, and many more would doubtless come after him. She did not intend to yield now, or later.

“Keh, so that’s how it’s gonna be?” he asked, speaking with the rough vernacular of one utterly lacking in education and manners.

In answer, she began to pull back the bowstring.

“It’s really not that complicated,” he went on. Fangs showed in his mouth as he spoke. No wonder he sounded like such a brute. “Just hand over the jewel and we don’t have to fight.”

“The next arrow goes through your heart,” she said through gritted teeth. “If you have one.”

He chuckled. “You think you’re good enough to hit me?”

She refused to be baited. She was more than good enough, else she would have been dead and the jewel pilfered long ago.

“Be gone,” she warned, “or I will put an end to you here and now.”

She met his gaze, watched those remarkable golden eyes as he weighed his chances, saw his expression soften in uncertainty as he realized she wasn’t bluffing after all. He crouched, bunching his legs beneath him, preparing.

For a fraught instant she thought he might launch himself toward her in some foolhardy and suicidal attempt to kill her with his bare hands, or whatever strange power that unassuming body might be hiding. But he leapt away from her to disappear among the trees without another word uttered. Just like that she was alone again, with only the trees and the damp, misty morning for company.

She relaxed only slowly, letting the string go carefully slack, lowering the bow and putting the arrow away.

If not for the arrow sticking out of the ground where he had stood, she might have believed he had never been there at all. Kikyou retrieved that arrow now, placing it back in her quiver beside the others. Although she remained vigilant the entire time, there was no further sign of her visitor.

She looked out over the forest where he had vanished, and hoped never to see him again.

But he was still out there somewhere. He still wanted the sacred jewel’s power for himself. She knew nothing about him but this, yet she was certain he would be back.

She should have killed him when she had the chance.


End file.
